MASS EFFECT: ENTANGLED SERIES

CHAPTER 27

A familiar tune ("Callista by Saki Kaskas") poured from Purgatory's speakers, ensnaring Bray's thoughts away from Alivia. The asari manning the DJ booth answered his unspoken question as her voice mixed in with the start-up beat. "This is for our special VIP guest! We all know who she is!" A few patrons that frequented Omega in the past raised a cheer of appreciation from their positions while strangers to the track bobbed their heads along in rhythm as they returned to their former actions. Bray's stunned almond eyes glimpsed at T'Loak's way to see her sitting on the couch, enjoying the beverage that the server just delivered. Her fierce deep blue eyes flickered dangerously his way; he was lingering too long. He couldn't tell from their angle if she picked up on Alivia's presence or not. If she did, she was using a strong poker face to mask her reaction. Activating his omni tool, his gloved short fingers glided over the holo keypad. "Krysta's apartment is located at the Tiberius Towers on the Silversun Strip: Number three nineteen. She may be there. Go and check on things."

Alivia tilted her head to the right in confusion at the knowledge. "How did you know that?"

"Look, don't be a pain in the ass. Remember, who is on this station. Just go. I gotta get back." His right peripheral vision tracked movement moving to Aria and it grabbed his attention. Vossk was joyously strutting in like he owned the place, making a direct beeline to his boss. The man's presence gravely alarmed him. Ever since he had the run-in with the bald merc leader down in the holding area, he had a tail on him. "Debak," He cursed before retreating over. Alivia's translator couldn't pick up what he said in his language under his breath and she blinked in bewilderment before moving out of the club. Her silver eyes glanced over her shoulder after she skirted past Aria's private booth to see Bray stiffen his guard as the newcomer greeted T'Loak. Who was that guy? Ignoring her inner curiosity, she quickened her pace to hail a skycab outside the VIP entrance. What was going on with Shepard? Who was after her?

Bray noticed Alivia looking back but kept his eyes transfixed on the man in front of him. What was he trying to pull? Vossk plopped down on the couch near Aria without an invitation with a sadistic smirk on his face. "Nice gig, Aria. Though not as plush as Afterlife, don't you agree?"

The asari glowered at him and then looked Bray's way. She was not happy that the man was just inches from him. Her silent look was the signal for him. He moved in and roughly grabbed Vossk by the collar of his shirt and tossed him hard down onto the floor before them. "You're not invited here, Vossk. What the hell do you want?"

"Is this any way to treat a guest?!" The man shot back as he stood from the floor in anger. His jaw clenched as he glared at the batarian before him. Bray remained silent as he crossed his arms in response.

Aria chimed in. "As Bray said, Vossk, you weren't invited."

"I want to make a new deal with you; in private." His eyes twinkled in delight. "I have something that four-eyes probably won't want you to see." Bray scoffed through his throat.

"I have a private room. Down the steps and to the right. You are correct, Vossk. We need to rediscuss our deal." She motioned Bray to lead the pair to the destination.

Moments later once inside, Aria spun on her black spiked heels to face Vossk directly with her back to the opposite end of the room. Her face remained disinterested as Bray stood guard at the door with his sidearm poised. An acquainted redhead was sitting comfortably relaxed in a chair near the far corner of the room sporting a Blue Suns armor. "Hello, Vossk. It's been a long time. Did you get fat?" Celeste snickered as she stood from the chair to join in on the conversation. Bray's eyes widened in surprise to see the woman from Omega. He had no idea that she left the asteroid station and was on the Citadel. Was all this planned? How much did Aria know? He gritted his teeth as he eyed all the players. Did he lose clout by being kept in the dark about this?

The leader of the Suns seemed offended by the woman's reveal. "What is this all about, Aria?" His demeanor changed quickly from boastful to panicking.

"She's here on my request, Vossk. What information do you have for me?"

The man grinned widely from ear to ear as he held up a datapad proudly in his hand. His taunting eyes met Bray's before deflecting back to T'Loak. "Looks like your pet has been messing around with the Spectre. Not a loyal dog after all. I got footage of them at Chasm before moving off to a more…private location." He couldn't resist the urge and he turned to Bray. "Was it good for you, four-eyes?" Bray snarled through his bared teeth as he clenched his pistol's grip tightly. Vossk chuckled at the reaction. "I think for once you should be paying the Blue Suns and replacing him with me. That's more than adequate for this kind of information. You want Omega back so badly…it's only fair."

Aria snapped, "That's all?"

"If you want the Blue Suns' help, now this is the new price."

"I think it's in your interest to negotiate."

"Why?" Vossk sneered. "You wouldn't like everyone to know that you have a weak link in the chain, now do you?"

Aria gleamed knowingly as she crossed her arms at his question. "Then you don't know me very well, Vossk. You've been off Omega for too long. You and I both know that Shepard could be an asset to retaking Omega back. Her military prowess gives us the edge we need. We all know that she aided Archangel off Omega months ago and delivered a powerful blow to the Suns." She paused. "Oh wait…you probably heard that off the extranet because you left the Suns to Tarak to find a cushier location. Why? Was Omega too hard for you?" The man fumed where he stood and T'Loak continued, "During her time on Omega, I noticed that Shepard took to Bray. Must be retribution for what she did to Torfan. Who the fuck cares. I had him make a deal with her to be onboard with us in the assault. So, Vossk, it seems that your intel report is not entirely accurate. Were you cheap on the creds to get it?"

Vossk gaffed at the disclosure. "You're telling me that Shepard now is helping you?"

"Yes."

"You still need the Suns!" He protested loudly as he realized he ran out of playing cards. The reality was sinking in; Celeste was there for another reason, a deadlier one. "I can renegotiate as you asked."

Aria laughed in amusement and smirked, "I never asked, Vossk. I said it was in 'your' interest to negotiate. You divulged all your cards too soon and lost your hand. Though, I, have yet to reveal mine, but will gladly do so now." She motioned to Celeste to move closer to her side. "While you were snooping around the station trying to find dirt on Bray, I struck a new deal with the Blue Suns without your involvement."

"Bullshit!" The man roared furiously. "I am the leader of the Suns!"

"Not anymore," Celeste unholstered her M-6 and fired, hitting him straight in the chest. The man grunted at the round's impact before collapsing down to the floor, dead. The redhead returned her pistol and grinned over at Bray. "Sorry that I took your kill."

Bray was still dumbfounded about what unfolded before him. He was in the dark about the arrangement. How much did she know? "It's alright. The bastard had it coming."

Aria glanced at Celeste's way. "Wait for my signal to board the ships."

"Yes, mam."

The asari took one look at Vossk's dead body in disgust and sidestepped to go around to exit. "Bray, get this trash out of here."

"On it," Bray dutifully moved to dispose of the corpse. Celeste lingered behind to watch on.

"Surprised, Bray?"

"With Aria?" He grunted as he gripped Vossk's lifeless arms and dragged the body towards the exit leaving a pool of blood on the floor. He was unmoved by the task since this was not the first time, he had to get rid of someone who crossed T'Loak. The action didn't faze him. Anyone who dared to cross her was dead. "Never a dull moment." He released the corpse at the front of the room.

"No, I meant about seeing me again. Last time, you didn't like me pressing her for help against Archangel."

Seeing her there reminded him of his friend Sh'sk. He wondered how his friend was faring on the asteroid. "Heh, I don't know if I was mad at Sh'sk for allowing you to whine again or Tarak for not asking himself. I figured you were still on the station dealing with Cerberus."

"I was one of the lucky bastards that made it past Archangel." Her eyes sadly looked down. "Too bad Tarak let that turian asshole get the better of him. He was a good boss to work for." Then she became angry at the painful memory. "You know your girlfriend helped. Mowed down a lot of us. She loves to screw things up, huh?"

Bray grumbled, "She's not my fucking girlfriend and let that shit go. Everyone dies on Omega." He paused to contact one of the lower workers on Aria's list on the Citadel. "Hey, I need a cleanup in Purgatory. Hurry your ass up before C-Sec gets wind of this."

"On it," A meek salarian answered seconds later.

He pulled out a cigarette and lit up while he waited. "Still didn't tell me how you made it past Cerberus. You talked to Sh'sk?"

Celeste smacked the cigarette out of his fingertips and glared at him. "Asshole! My boyfriend was killed trying to take down Archangel! Shepard took him out after he stupidly climbed over the sidewall before Tarak moved in with the gunship. I told him to stay back!"

"The dumbass should have listened."

She looked at him incredulously then huffed, "The extranet reports are right, then? All the shit that Vossk blabbered about. You are messing around with Shepard. You going soft, Bray?"

"You heard what Aria said. I'm doing what she says. If you don't want to be like Vossk, then I would suggest you do the same."

"Didn't know that Aria pimped you out like that, Bray?" She teased.

"Don't know why the hell Sh'sk liked you," He muttered under his breath.

"He didn't like me. I paid him credits and he granted me an audience with Aria to speak on behalf of Tarak. Didn't do any damn good."

"He liked you. He never admitted it, but even a dumb vorcha could see it."

"What about you, Bray? You play combat games with a well-known Spectre and go into backrooms alone. Sounds kind of kinky with the 'savior of us all,'" She mocked.

The batarian ignored her badgering as he covered up the body with a cloth before tying it up into place. "You weren't on Omega when Cerberus hit. Why'd the fuck did you leave?"

"After what happened to Tarak and Miguel…I…couldn't stay," Her voice saddened as she watched him work. "I took another position on a freighter for a bit. Did a few piracy runs: mostly against volus merchants. That was fun. Then all hell broke loose and like every poor bastard, I came here to avoid instant death. I learned that Aria was around and reached out to her privately." Her eyes remained conflicted. "You said Sh'sk is still there?"

"Hard to know until we get there. He knows what to do once we get back. You ready for this?"

"Better than what I'm doing now. Besides, I need to save his ass."

Alivia received a few questioning looks as she made her way to the Tiberius Towers on the strip. She stood out in her body armor amongst the richly garbed clientele. As she passed the tower's lobby, she avoided eye contact with the merchants inside and moved towards the elevator. She allowed herself to slowly take a breath once inside the car. The place so far looked untouched and wasn't shut down by C-Sec. Any attack on a Spectre was serious and it would be swarmed by officers. If someone was after Krysta, then they didn't come here.

Exiting the elevator and moving down the hall with a panoramic view of the skyline to her left, she spotted two armed operatives with no markings. Their faces were covered by helmets. They instantly spotted her and raised their rifles her way. "Alliance Security. This area is closed to non-authorized individuals."

Alivia tensed. These guys weren't with the Alliance. Who were they? She had to be certain though. "I received a message from the commander just a minutes ago and she said she was here waiting on me. Are you part of her crew?"

The men looked at each other on how to respond than one turned to glance back at the apartment's door. "Shit," One grumbled through his helm. "We better check it."

"Did she have another entrance? He didn't say anything about that," The other added and returned to Alivia with his gun still drawn on her. "She must be with her! You're coming with us."

"Don't count on it," Alivia engaged her implant and released a biotic shockwave attack that knocked both men off their feet and slammed them into the apartment's front exterior wall. Taking out her M-5, she finished both off with two rounds in their heads. Keeping her gun poised as she neared, she tapped both with her boot to make sure they were dead before kneeling to check them. There were no identification tags on these guys. Her silver eyes worriedly glanced at the apartment's door, and she moved over to ring the doorbell. "Krysta? Anyone in there?" There was no sound of movement from within and no response. Pulling up her omni, she reached out to C-Sec dispatch. "This is Lieutenant Alivia Lykaia. There are two deceased armed men outside apartment three nineteen at Tiberius Towers. They could be linked to the attack on Commander Shepard earlier today."

"Acknowledged, Lieutenant. Please remain at your location until the officers arrive. I'm sending a car there now."

"Understood," She then switched another call over to Bray's communicator. "Bray, this is Alivia. Something is going on. Two armed men were outside the apartment and keeping an eye out. They identified themselves as Alliance and trust me they weren't."

"Shit. Where are they now?"

Alivia glanced down at the two bodies. "Dead. I killed them before they did the same to me."

"Good."

"I don't know where she is. C-Sec is on their way. I'll find out what I can."

"Gotta go," The line quickly cut off. She figured that Aria didn't like the idle chatter which caused him to sever it.

Alivia sighed and glanced out the large window, overhearing the sirens approaching. "I guess I'll stay here."

"Someone is after Shepard. There was an attack recently at a restaurant that she was at. This could cause a problem with our departure," Bray blurted out swiftly to Aria. "Could be Cerberus."

"You think I care?" Aria dismissed the news with a wave of her hand. "I thought Shepard never agreed to help me…at least that's where she left it off at. Which is it?"

"Well, she could help us. You said it yourself to Vossk earlier."

"You of all people should know that sometimes you have to bluff to get what you want."

"She's on this station and this may be our last chance," He countered.

Rolling her eyes, Aria waved him off. "Go make sure her ship is still here." She followed up with a threatening hiss, "That's it. I don't need you running in being a hero and getting your ass killed. I need you for this assault. Omega is more important than her. Remember that."

"I know," He moved to carry out the task.

"Do you?" She called out to him.

He pretended he didn't hear her and hurried out of the club. Who was after Krysta? Alivia would have instantly identified the men as Cerberus. Was it another faction? Just how many were involved? He tried to piece possible suspects in his mind. The mercs were all lined up with Aria so they wouldn't dare to mess things up. His mind flashed to Aratoht and the Hegemony. They were up there on the list, but most of them were taken out when the reapers struck Khar'Shaan first. Many of his race did survive so there was a strong possibility that a group formed for retaliation. If it was them, could he go against his species again for a human? He touched back in with Alivia as he entered the elevator to move to the docks. "Are these guys batarian?"

There was a few seconds' delay before she replied, "I think they are human. C-Sec is here to go over the crime scene."

He exhaled silently in relief. "I'm going to the docks to see if the Normandy is still here." He switched the comm over to Shepard's private channel. "Shepard, this is Bray. Come in." He paused in his step outside the elevator near the docks to wait for an answer. When none came, he exhaled heavily through his nostrils. Either something was up or she was giving him the cold shoulder. "Commander Shepard, this is Bray. Come in." He tried not to sound agitated just in case his gut was making the situation more dire than it was. The lack of reply was troublesome. Quickening his pace, he hurried over to the glass pedway enclosure that overlooked the Alliance docks. He wouldn't have authorization to get close enough but at his location, he could see the Normandy SR-2 berthed in its port without any indication of trouble outside. "Where the fuck are you, Krysta…" He huffed under his breath as he stared out through the glass down at the ship. The apartment was a no-go with C-Sec there and again they left each other on bad terms. She was miffed for him bringing up her deceased partner: Kaidan Alenko. The data mined by Aria's tech team gave him insight into her past including any known relationships. Whatever they were to each other, he was not Kaidan and she made it abundantly clear. Thinking about how their last conversation played out, he grew heated and torn. Half of him wanted to walk away and never look back while the other desperately sought her out. Satisfied for now that she was somewhere still on the Citadel, he diverted back to Purgatory.

The path to the Normandy was in the clear for the male clone and Maya Brooks as the pair darted through the security checkpoint, bypassing the guards and alarm. He halted to remain out of sight and held his fist up to signal Brooks to do the same as his blue eyes panned over their layout for any sign of trouble. Everything was going too easy: Shepard and her team were now part of the archives to be lost forever and he took her identity away. The new dawn of Shepard would dominate all opposition: A man who would never side with aliens; humanity would always be first. There would be no deviation from the lowly cult that his predecessor created. The former Spectre, Krysta Shepard, was a disease that corrupted all who followed her. His jaw clenched tightly as he spied a familiar figure staring down at the Normandy from the crosswalk overview. Switching to his Viper sniper rifle, he homed in the scope to get a better look. His finger twitched on the trigger. "Too late, batarian…" Holstering the weapon back, he sneered as Bray walked away and out of sight.

"I'm surprised you didn't take the shot," Brooks looked on.

"How dumb do you think I am?" He shot back defensively. "We all know that's bulletproof glass with a trip alarm. I don't need any more trouble. I have a ship to take. Move out." He huffed in his step with her at his side. He tapped his earpiece. "Is the ship ready?"

"Doing final checks now," A voice replied.

"Make 'em fast. I want out of here." He grinned over at Maya. "Krysta should have learned from Torfan that a good batarian is a dead one. Sleeping with aliens tainted her. I will kill all of them. Where is a good place to start?"

"Omega," Brooks answered but she shook her head after. "We should lay low first until we get the resources in with your Spectre status to deal with the Illusive Man. He never liked anyone cutting ties with him."

"Still scared of him?" He gaffed at this. "Grow a pair. With the power I now have, he would be stupid not to join up with me. After all, we have the same enemies."